Chula Vista has decked City Hall with LED lights for the holidays and is leading the way to lower-energy streetlights that last longer and provide better light.

After passing measures to retrofit almost all of the city’s roughly 8,000 streetlights from the existing high pressure sodium fixtures to the more eco- and energy-friendly LED technology, the City Council on Dec. 4 also voted to convert the lights at intersections.

The city’s Public Works Department last year converted all the streetlights on residential streets to LED.

The project went so well that the City Council in May this year approved a $1.3 million retrofit agreement with Southern Contracting Inc. to convert an additional 2,500 streetlights on major and connector roadways in order to improve public safety and save on energy costs. The project also includes revising Chula Vista’s subdivision manual, along with its design and construction standards, to include the new LED light specifications. Chula Vista already participated in a regional pilot project about three years ago to test out LED products from different manufacturers, and city employees helped write an LED standard for the San Diego region.

The City Council’s vote amended the project, adding about 1,200 intersection lights based on a recently completed inventory of existing streetlights for a total of 3,737, and raising the maximum price for the project to $2.2 million.

Streetlights account for about 15 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 40 percent of its municipal electricity use, according to a staff report, costing taxpayers more than $800,000 each year. But that amount could be dramatically lower once LED lights are installed.

“LED offers some advantages,” explained Chula Vista Environmental Resources Manager Brendan Reed. “It uses more than 50 percent less energy than traditional lights, so we will be able to reduce the wattage for our bulbs down to 140, from 250.”

LED technology offers another cost advantage, because the bulbs last significantly longer. Right now, the city switches out existing HPS streetlights about once every three or four years. The new fixtures could last up to 100,000 hours, or 20 years.

“The long-term savings is pretty significant,” Reed said. “For that reason, you see a lot of municipalities moving toward LED.”

The conversion to the new lights could also improve public safety, he added, because the light put out by LED fixtures is of higher quality, allowing people to see colors more clearly. A red jacket under an LED light, for example, looks red, while it looks orange under a high pressure sodium light.

The project will be paid for with the sale of some of the city’s Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds money, and the city expects that its utility cost savings will cover the debt service for the bonds over their 14- to 17-year life, after which the savings would remain in the city’s general fund.

The new lights will also be compatible with controls that can adapt the output to changing needs, providing the city with the potential to save even more money long-term.

Reed said that the light display at City Hall is designed to encourage residents to also make the more energy-efficient decision when it comes to decorating for the holidays.

“In addition to bringing holiday cheer, we obviously want to showcase again, that LED holiday lights, just like their streetlight counterparts, use less energy, last longer and are safer in the home.”